The first (unofficial) images of the iPhone SE 2023 reveal an outdated design… again. PHOTO

After repeated rumors of the next iPhone SE possibly launching sooner than expected, it looks like we now have the first unofficial images of the device. Jon Prosser, creator of YouTube channel and website Front Page Tech, has published these images based on photos and plans from reliable sources, in which we can see the iPhone SE (2023) in all its glory. In case you thought you’d seen this phone four years ago, you have. The design is almost identical to that of the iPhone XR.

The iPhone SE 2023 looks to bring the design of the 2018 XR back to market

Apple seems to be facing more problems in its smartphone lineup lately. Not only is the iPhone SE, the 2022 model released in the spring with Apple’s A15 Bionic processor but no other upgrades and a very outdated design, not selling up to expectations, but even the new iPhone 14 Plus, the basic big-screen version, doesn’t seem to be capturing customers’ attention.

So Apple appears to be accelerating plans for the next iPhone SE, the cheap entry-level model in its offering. It could be released as early as next year, and from the images it looks like nothing has changed to the design of the iPhone XR, apart from the colour options. Even though some rumors suggested keeping Touch ID in the power button and ditching the notch, that doesn’t seem to be the case. The iPhone SE 2023 will use the same 6.1″ LCD screen with notch and thick bezels around it, a single 12-megapixel camera on the back, Lightning jack, and aluminum and glass construction. Colour options remain the same as on the iPhone SE 2022: Midnight, Starlight and Product RED. This could be the last iPhone with Lightning before the switch to USB-C.

What’s not very clear, however, is whether it will adopt the same A15 processor as the SE 2022. That’s because the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus still use that processor, for the second year in a row, whereas only the Pro variants have Apple’s A16. Integrating an A16 processor on a cheaper model would certainly upset fans.